Puzzling
by the little spanko
Summary: ***WARNING: SPANKING*** Our three intrepid FBI agents randomly come across Krycek. All is not as it seems. ***WARNING: SPANKING***


It happened innocently enough, Skinner had suggested an out of the way lunch in a dark restaurant on the other side of DC, away from the prying eyes and ears of any FBI lurkers who may have nefarious agendas.

It was unusual for Mulder and Scully to be invited to lunch by their superior, but the A.D. had been insistent, and suitably cryptic enough, saying that there was something he needed to talk to them about.

"What do you think it could be, Scully?" Mulder quipped playfully with a grin as he parked the car in an alley parking lot.

"I don't know," Scully answered good-naturedly, "but he's certainly chosen a creepy place to meet."

They were deep in a forgotten area of D.C., on the edge of where respectable business ended and crime began. The buildings were composed of old, stained brick and the streets were barely maintained. The restaurant Skinner had chosen was called Malley's.

"You know, I think this might be the first ever sports bar," Mulder said as they entered, he flinched when the door gave a painfully high pitched squeak when he opened it. "And they've never bothered to update a thing."

"How did he even find this place?" Scully asked, taking in the dank smell of the old building combined with coffee and fried food. She decided she'd have Mulder pick her something up on their way back to the office.

Skinner sat facing both the door and the window in a booth in the far corner. He waved them over, looking more tense and irritable than normal.

Mulder moaned quietly so that only Scully could hear, and motioned politely for her to go ahead of him.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically.

Mulder sniggered.

Skinner stood up to welcome them. "Sit down," he started to say, and then he stared intently out the window.

Mulder and Scully looked at him for a moment and then both began to turn to look at what had his attention.

"Wait," he barked.

They watched his eyes follow something down the street.

"Krycek," he hissed.

"Krycek?" Scully and Mulder asked in unison.

"Come on," Skinner said, he dropped a five on the table to pay for his iced tea and grabbed his coat.

They followed Krycek into the shady part of town and kept a distance twice longer than they'd been taught at Quantico. Krycek was too squirrely for them to get any closer. He used windows and car mirrors to check behind him, and turned abruptly now and then without any discernable pattern.

Krycek suddenly looked behind him, and Skinner grabbed his two agents and jumped into an alleyway just in time.

"Now we know why we've never been able to catch him," Skinner rumbled. He peeked around the corner.

Krycek was walking again, and Skinner was about to wave his agents on to tail the rat bastard again. Suddenly Krycek stepped into a doorway and then popped back out, walking back towards them. Skinner ducked back into the alley.

He heard Krycek's steps approaching.

"Behind the dumpster," he whispered, and the three of them jogged quietly behind the dumpster and waited.

They watched through a small space between the dumpster and the brick wall as Krycek walked past them. Krycek paid special attention to the alley they were in, his eyes darting around suspiciously, but with all the trash and debris in the way, he didn't see them.

Skinner stepped out from behind the dumpster and peeked into the street as Krycek's footsteps diminished.

Krycek doubled back again and entered a smaller two story apartment building a block away.

They entered a few paces behind him, Skinner catching the door before it closed. They were just in time to see the door at the top of the staircase close. After a few seconds time, they nodded at each other and climbed the stairs, guns drawn.

Skinner was in lead, and he opened the door at the stop of the stairs a fraction and peeked in. Seeing it was clear, he nodded at Mulder and Scully and went through with them at his heel.

The hall, which went straight out from the staircase, divided the floor in half and each half had two mirroring hallways. There was a boy sitting with his back against the wall, facing the stairwell, in the far left hall. He looked to be around five years old, and was idly tossing a worn baseball into an equally worn baseball glove he wore on his left hand. He glanced at them in a bored way as he continued his repetitive catching.

"Where did the man go, the man in the leather jacket?" Skinner asked the boy after seeing that all four hallways were empty. He, Mulder and Scully had all pulled their guns close to their bodies in an effort to conceal them, not wanting to worry the boy, but hadn't holstered them in case Krycek appeared.

The boy took in the poorly concealed guns, looked all three of them up and down, wrinkled his brow and asked "Are you good guys or bad guys?"

"Good guys," Skinner told him, thinking it was a very strange question for the boy to ask.

Mulder holstered his gun and took out his badge, "We're with the FBI, do you know what that means?" He held his badge out for the boy to see.

The boy peered at it, running a finger over the badge, and then he looked back up at Mulder. "You're like policemen, right?"

Mulder grinned, "Something like that."

The boy gave him a bland look. "He's in his apartment," he told them, pointing to apartment 11, which one was of two apartments down the hall past where the boy sat.

Mulder thanked the boy and the three agents walked down the hall.

"What, does he have a kid playing watch out for him now?" Mulder asked in an irritated whisper before adding, "Doesn't seem right, there's no escape route." Apartments 11 and 12 were on opposite sides of the wall, the doorways staggered rather than facing each other. There was neither a window nor an exit door at the end of the hallway, and the hallway was far from the stairs.

Scully raised her brow in agreeance.

"He's about to find out he's not as safe here as he may think," Skinner ground out. He then knocked on the door and listened, intending to kick it in – hopefully straight into Krycek's face – as soon as Krycek neared.

There was no answer, so Skinner knocked louder.

"It's open," they heard the far away voice of Krycek call from within.

Skinner, Mulder and Scully exchanged incredulous glances. Gun at the ready, Skinner tried the knob, and it did indeed give. The three agents walked apprehensively into the living room.

"Everything ok?" Krycek asked as he came out of the steamy bathroom. He was barefoot, hair wet and slightly askew, wearing black briefs and a clean white V-neck tee that stuck to his poorly toweled off damp body. He was attempting unsuccessfully to hop into his tight black jeans while rounding the corner into the living room when he saw them. He flinched, his face slack jawed, and he scuttled back against the wall, jeans forgotten and hanging halfway up his legs.

"Not when you're involved," Skinner ground out as he rushed the younger man. He threw Krycek harder against the wall with a sickening thud and then grabbed him by his t-shirt, rearing his meaty right fist back, intent on burying it in Krycek's teeth.

"NO!" Krycek yelled, but instead of ducking he nodded his head towards the door. "Not in front of the kid."

Skinner turned to see the little boy from the hall standing in the doorway, eyes large as saucers, then turned back to look at Krycek. The rat looked fully compliant with the boy present.

"It's ok Jack," Krycek reassured the boy. "Everything's alright."

"I thought you said you were good guys," the boy said to Skinner.

"We are," Skinner answered stiffly, turning back to the kid and rolling his jaw as he tried to think of a way to explain what was happening.

"Then why are you trying to hurt Alex?" the kid asked, causing the three agents' eyes to widen as they glanced at each other. _Krycek was on a first name basis with a __**kid**__?_ Mulder narrowed his eyes at Krycek, certain the rat bastard was somehow corrupting the child.

Krycek took the opportunity during the awkward silence to hike his pants up, but wasn't able to zip up due to a rough shake and a glare from Skinner.

"He stole something," Scully said reassuringly, and was about to insist – with a glare at Skinner – that they weren't going to be hurting anyone when the kid interrupted her.

"Oh," Jack said thoughtfully. "Is Alex going to get spanked?"

Everyone looked around awkwardly: Skinner loosened his grip on Krycek and began blinking very slowly. Alex sighed and bowed his head, then gave the kid a somewhat humiliated little smile from under his brow. Mulder chewed the inside of his mouth, caught somewhere between hilarity and bewilderment. Scully quirked her mouth to the side and tilted her head, and overall was able to stifle the giggle that was threatening to break free.

Jack gave them all a confused look. "That's what Alex says happens when you steal," he told them, his voice rising in pitch a little defensively.

Krycek gave a put out sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a huff, "You're right, Jack. That _**is**_ what I said happens when you steal."

Skinner fixed Krycek with a look that managed to be both incensed and disturbed at the same time, to which Krycek smirked evilly at.

"Is it going to be bad?" Jack asked.

Krycek's eyes shot back to the kid, and he couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I hope not," he rasped out in a conspiratorial whisper.

Jack gave a small, knowing grin before his little face grew very serious once again.

Everyone seemed to be waiting for something to happen for a long moment, and the adults realized during this time, almost simultaneously, that Jack was not planning on going anywhere. In fact, with the looks he kept shooting Skinner, he seemed set on watching over Krycek's punishment, making sure the double spy that he was clearly attached to was safe in the hands of the larger man.

Skinner glanced at Scully and then at Mulder, seeking council, but judging by the look on their faces they too were at a loss. Skinner took a deep breath and rolled his chin once more, leveling Krycek with a look that had the younger man's stomach flipping. In that moment a decision had been made.

Krycek tried to pull away just as Skinner strengthened his grip and, finding himself unable to get away, Krycek felt his pulse skyrocket.

Skinner gave a cursory look around the apartment and began dragging the squirming Krycek to a chair.

"No, wait a minute," Krycek said in a panic.

"You said it yourself, Krycek, thieves get spanked," Skinner told him dryly as he bent him over the back of the chair. He ignored the snort from Mulder and the disapproving _'Sir!'_ that came from Scully.

Krycek wanted to stay brave in front of the boy, he did – but he also had no plans to take a spanking as a grown man, especially from Skinner and in front of Mulder! And so, as soon as he was bent over the back of his chair, he began trying to wriggle away from Skinner.

"You aren't setting a very good example," Skinner told him in a monotone wit that Krycek had thought only Mulder capable of.

"He's just scared," Jack replied simply. "It can be really scary. But Alex, it'll be ok." And then, "_Did you really steal something?"_

Krycek let out a puff of air as he looked up a Jack, his face red both from straining to get away from Skinner and from what was happening to him. Jack's question didn't help matters.

Jack put his hands on his hips, "Tell the truth. You always tell me _**I**_ have to tell _**you**_ the truth." At that, Mulder and Scully shared a meaningful look.

Krycek's face took on a very concerned expression and his mouth opened and closed a few times at what Jack had said as the two maintained an uncomfortable eye contact. During this time, Skinner had finally given up trying to hold Krycek over the back of the chair and instead yanked him up hard so that they were facing each other, though Krycek wasn't firmly on his feet. "You heard him, _Alex_, tell the truth," Skinner said menacingly. Then he sat in the chair and pulled the fighting Krycek over his lap.

"NO!" Krycek yelled, fighting going over Skinner's lap with all his might. But he was barefoot and damp, and the flooring was wood and without traction, there wasn't much he could do. He let out a long, annoyed whimper the moment he was over Skinner's knees, his upper frame resting on his forearms on the floor and his ass high in the air.

Jack ran to Krycek, hugged and patted his shoulder and told him, "It's ok if you cry."

Mulder snorted.

"_Jack_," Krycek said in exasperation, but then he seemed to catch himself and he looked up and said, "Thanks buddy."

Jack patted Krycek's head and gave him an encouraging smile, then he turned and glared at Mulder for having laughed. Finally, he turned to Skinner and nodded as though giving permission for the spanking to begin.

Skinner looked unsure of himself as he regarded the boy for a long moment. Then he abruptly raised his hand and brought it down with a resounding crack to the seat of Krycek's jeans.

"Ahhh," Krycek breathed immediately.

"No, no, no," Jack said as though Skinner were very thick. "That's not how you do it…"

"…Jack, please," Krycek started, but Jack spoke over him.

"…first you have to…"

"…Jack, c'mon now, hush up," Krycek tried a little more desperately, especially after glancing up and seeing the intrigued look on Mulder's face.

"…take down his jeans…"

The next two sentences were yelled simultaneously by Krycek and Skinner: "Jack, you aren't helping me here!" and "What the hell for?!" Followed quickly with "What have you been doing to this kid, Krycek?!" from Mulder.

Jack regarded them with ease before answering brightly, "So you can make sure you don't really hurt him!" Then he fixed Skinner with a serious look, "You don't really want to hurt him, do you?"

Skinner gave Jack a firm look, and then tried to soften it with a little grin. "Why don't you run along now, Jack…"

"No! Not until I know Alex is ok," Jack insisted.

Skinner looked at Scully, who took her cue to approach the boy and attempt to lead him out, "It's ok, Alex will be…"

"I said _**no**_," Jack yelled, pulling away from her and wrapping his arms around Krycek's neck, burying his face in the troublesome man's shoulder. "I'm **not** leaving."

For probably the fifth time in as many minutes, the adults shared awkward looks.

Finally, Skinner huffed and began attempting to divest Krycek of his jeans. This earned him an indignant squawk from Krycek, and the upended man began squirming wildly. Unfortunately for Krycek, he'd never had the chance to zip and button his jeans since coming from the shower, and so Skinner made quick work of shucking them down to mid-thigh.

"Like that?" Skinner asked the boy in exasperation.

Jack nodded, clearly satisfied.

"_Black underwear_?" Mulder mocked. "Is this some sort of dress code?"

Krycek glared at Mulder from under his brow, teeth bared, and let out a sound not unlike a growl. That growl quickly became a raspy yip as Skinner landed a stinging swat to the unprotected lower portion of the rounded left globe of Krycek's ass. The color bloomed quickly across Krycek's cheek, and soon a red handprint was clearly visible.

Jack took the first swat as his cue to scoot away to give the two men space.

Krycek looked after him with a somewhat forlorn expression, clearly missing the comfort, though he tried to hide it.

Skinner pulled the band of Krycek's underwear up a bit to expose more skin and gave the other cheek a matching hand print. Krycek yelled out pitifully.

"Tell me where it is," Skinner demanded, falling into a rhythm that was accompanied by pained vocalizations with every connection.

"Tell you where _**what**_ is?" Krycek all but spat.

"The disk," Skinner answered. Not only was the impatience clear in his voice, but he also landed two particularly harsh swats with each word.

"I don't - Ow - know anything about any disk – _OW_," Krycek said in a rush, his practiced voice sounding extremely sincere and innocent.

With a tired sigh, Skinner told him, "A man matching your exact description was seen. By four people."

Krycek looked honestly confused, _I checked three times before going in_, Krycek thought to himself, _and that was after a week of surveillance. There wasn't anybody there. I knew where all the cameras were and I avoided being seen. Who the hell saw me?_

"We know it was you," Skinner said. "So where is it?"

"Ah! Those four - ow - people - OW - are _wrong _- AH!"

Krycek couldn't keep his legs still from the get go, and they moved slowly in the air, sometimes looking as though he were pedaling an invisible bicycle as the spanks landed. He was pulled forward so far over Skinner's knees that his toes didn't quite touch the ground. This position also kept his ass high and taut in the air, making his sit spots easy targets.

Though he was a more than capable assassin and spy, Krycek had a near zero pain tolerance. This treatment was too much for him, even if it were only Skinner's hand smacking at him. He couldn't help crying out.

Scully pursed her lips as she watched. She'd always noticed how childish his cries of pain had sounded any time Mulder had hit him in the past, the desperate, unrestrained wails of pain that she'd only ever heard children give before. And now, here she stood, watching him getting his ass spanked cherry red. She remembered thinking, the first time they'd met that he couldn't possibly be old enough to be an FBI agent. These days he looked to be mid-twenties, but she honestly had no idea how old he really was. She did know, however, that he very much deserved what he was getting, and she took pleasure in the fact that she was witnessing it.

The sound of a door being kicked in and a woman's scream rang out, and Krycek's head popped up. Jack ran from the apartment, turning right and heading towards apartment twelve. Krycek instantly squirmed away from Skinner and had just landed on all fours when Jack could be heard yelling, "Alex, help!"

Krycek was out the door before he even had his jeans up. Scully, Mulder and Skinner scrambled after him, and before they were out the door there were sickening thuds and shattering crashes from the apartment across the hall that Krycek had entered.

A gun skidded out into the hall before they made it to the broken door, and then there was a gagging sound and a window breaking. All three agents stopped and pulled their guns and then went in. The scene before them stopped them in their tracks.

Most of the furniture was broken, and there were sprays of blood flung about, but the most surprising thing was Krycek. He had a man by the throat with his left hand, and was leaning the man out the window and over the street below. In his right hand was a Ruger 22 that was pointed at another man sporting a flattened and bloody nose. No one was moving.

"Who sent you," Krycek growled, staring down the man with the broken nose.

"Put it down, Krycek," Mulder yelled, aiming his gun at Krycek.

"Get out of here," Krycek snarled, gripping the gun harder and breathing heavy.

"Don't hurt him," Jack began to cry loudly when Mulder aimed at Krycek.

Skinner lowered his gun and put his hand on Mulder's gun, lowering it for him.

"No one's getting hurt," Skinner said soothingly and holstered his gun. "Let's just calm this down."

Krycek shot an irritated glance at Skinner, but mainly kept his eyes on the man he was aiming the gun at, "Who sent you?"

The man chuckled, which caused blood to froth at the corners of his mouth.

Krycek was losing his patience, "Tell me!"

Skinner walked slowly towards Krycek, and for a moment Krycek shot a look at him that seemed to suggest that he was going to aim the gun at him.

"This game isn't so fun when you're on this end of it, is it?" Skinner asked him calmly, walking closer still.

A cold sweat had broken out on Krycek's forehead, and he seemed to be having trouble coming to some decision.

"Don't do it," Skinner said, taking a guess at what decision he was trying to make.

"They'll be back," Krycek reasoned.

"There are three FBI agents in this room, and they're beat to hell," Skinner said, motioning to the two intruders. "What makes you think they're getting away?"

Krycek gave him an amused look, but said nothing.

The man half hanging out the window kicked Krycek in the hip and towards Skinner. The man with the broken nose took the opportunity to grab the gun out of Krycek's hand, and both men made for the door as Krycek and Skinner tumbled to the ground.

Mulder and Scully went to take aim, but the man who'd been hanging out the window reached into his jacket, pulled a knife, and threw it at Scully's head in a flash. She ducked and rolled just in time. The other man bowled into Mulder, kicking the gun from his hands and running past him. Both men were in the hall before Mulder knew what'd hit him.

Krycek scrambled over Skinner to go after them, and was halfway to the door when Skinner grabbed hold of him.

"_Let me go_," Krycek snarled, and Skinner was surprised at how Krycek was able to maneuver away from him.

"Krycek!" Skinner yelled after him, diving and catching the younger man around his waist as Krycek made his way out the door and towards the escaping men.

"I'll kill you! I'll rip your throats out if you come back!" Krycek roared at the two men as he flailed in Skinner's grip, suddenly all elbows. Mulder joined in, trying to hold Krycek back and twisting back the arm closest to Skinner to prevent any more elbows to the A.D.'s face.

"Oh, we'll be coming back," the one with the flattened nose yelled over his shoulder. "We'll be coming back _real_ soon!"

"Sir," Scully questioned, looking down the hall the two men had disappeared down.

"Call it in," Skinner told her, clearly intent on staying on task. Scully nodded and stepped away to call in what'd happened.

In that time, Krycek again went after the two men who'd disappeared down the hall, lunging suddenly like a wild animal, and it was all Skinner and Mulder could do to hold him back. They'd never seen Krycek fight back like this, and were taken off guard with his ferocity and power.

"Alex!" Claire yelled, and Krycek turned immediately, a fearful look in his eye as though he was afraid they were hurt.

Claire and Jack were slumped on the ground hugging each other and crying, looking scared to death. Skinner placed her age around seventeen or so, though he couldn't tell if she were Jack's mother or sister.

Krycek changed direction, intent on going to them and making sure they were ok, and Skinner let go.

Mulder hadn't, and Krycek nearly shrugged him off completely with a quick move that sent Mulder flying. Skinner had to catch him and pull him away so that he didn't hit the floor, and both men stared after Krycek in shock.

They watched as he knelt close to Claire and Jack, gently reassuring them and pulling them both in tight for a hug, their heads under his chin as he looked off into the distance while he rocked them. They both clung to him. After a moment he pulled away and wiped their tears, then hugged them to him again.

Once they'd calmed he stood and looked around the room. "Pack what you want to keep, you won't be coming back here," he said and then walked off. Everyone's eyes trailed after him as he went into one of the bedrooms, though he didn't seem to notice. After a moment he came out with two large duffle bags.

"Will you get them packed while I get a few things ready?" he asked Scully.

Scully nodded, looked around and gathered the bags up to help them pack.

Skinner and Krycek watched over them for a moment before Skinner quietly grabbed Krycek by the back of the neck and arm and pulled him out of the room unseen by the kids, Mulder close on their heels.

"_G'offa me_," Krycek hissed in a whisper, he tried unsuccessfully to yank his arm from Skinner's grip and then huffed.

"We've got a few minutes," Skinner said easily, "and you haven't answered my question yet, boy."

Krycek swallowed nervously. Skinner was looking at him with real anger once more, Mulder was behind him, and he himself was still barefoot. This wasn't going to go well.

"The walls are thin," he tried. "Think of the kids, they've been through enough."

Seeing the fear, Skinner grinned at him as they turned into Krycek's apartment, "Oh, they'll be fine." He tightened his grip, "We're just gonna be continuing our previous conversation."

Krycek went momentarily slack jawed in disbelief and then began a blurring attempt to pull away, but Skinner got him in a bear hug and skidded him back towards the chair.

"No!" Krycek half yelled as he thrashed and slid about angrily. He heard Mulder chuckling from across the room and he shot a glare at the older man, but that only resulted in Mulder giving him a smug grin.

Krycek gave a growl that quickly became a whine as Skinner had just seated himself and had taken him down over his lap in one swift motion. He threw both hands back and kicked both feet up before Skinner could make a grab for his jeans. "I don't know where the damn disk is!" he insisted, "I don't know a damn thing about any disk!"

"We have surveillance footage," Skinner ground out. "I know you were involved."

"This is stupid!" Krycek yelled, scanning the room helplessly.

"There are kids next door, and this is your doing. You suggested it, you're taking it. Put your feet down and tell me where the disk is. Last chance."

Krycek gave Skinner a look that contained both fear and hate as he weighed his options, and then he took a deep breath and moved his hands and feet. "I don't have it."

Skinner pulled Krycek forward and smacked him low across both cheeks, "Did you sell it?"

"Ah! It's gone," Krycek answered cryptically.

Skinner huffed and started yanking Krycek's jeans down again, though Krycek didn't put up much of a struggle. "Where is it?" Skinner asked in an irritated voice.

"Not here," Krycek replied smartly, and then, "Ow. OW! **OWW**!"

Skinner had had enough and began spanking in earnest. There was no pattern to where the swats landed, and Krycek never knew whether they'd be on the less painful meaty areas or the especially painful areas of where ass met thigh or upper thighs. It was unnerving.

Skinner grabbed a handful of Krycek's underwear and gave a firm tug upward so that most of Krycek's ass cheeks were exposed, then he went back to work. The sound of flesh slapping flesh was loud, and Krycek kept looking towards the door as though he expected Jack to come running in at any moment. His own vocalizations were just as loud, and getting louder, but there was nothing he could do. The fact was he sucked at taking pain quietly. He didn't have a high pain threshold, even though he found himself getting hurt quite often, and this was clearly becoming too much for him too quickly. The rhythm of the swats had his entire body bobbing forward with each connection from their intensity, and Krycek let out gasps and whines constantly in between his yells.

"Ok, _ok_! _**OW!**_ I have it," Krycek gasped out.

"Where is it?" Skinner said, irritation still dominant in his voice as he spanked.

"Not here – _AH_ – safe – **AAHH-**_**OOOW**_," Krycek breathed. "I can – **OOWW!** – take you!"

"Tell me where it is!" Skinner yelled. Then he abruptly stopped spanking and held a hand out to Mulder, "Give me your belt."

"What? NO!" Krycek yelled. He began thrashing about over Skinner's lap. Skinner held him tighter and leaned onto him, the heavy weight of his torso helping keep Krycek in place.

Mulder blinked dumbly a few times at the demand.

"Now!" Skinner yelled, and that seemed to wake Mulder from his stupor. Within seconds Skinner had the belt folded in his hand.

-CRACK-

"OWWWW!" Krycek yelled, both his eyes and mouth opened wide in surprised pain.

-CRACK-

"_OWWWWOWWW!_" Krycek curled in on himself, burying his face in his folded arms on the floor and kicking his legs frantically.

-CRACK-

"**OWWWW-OWW**_**-OWWWW**_!" Krycek hollered in a wet sob. He slapped the floor angrily as tears fell, openly upset with how quickly he'd broken down.

But Skinner didn't stop; he kept the belt coming without reprieve. Krycek jerked and thrashed about over his lap, kicking his legs and sobbing openly and despondently.

Mulder shook his head and looked away. "C'mon Krycek," he yelled in a mixture of distress and annoyance at the scene taking place.

Skinner was not holding back, and Krycek's butt was quickly raw and swollen. His jeans were tangled around his ankles and he kicked and wiggled wildly, frantically trying to avoid the belt.

"I'll give you the disk," he promised wetly.

"You're damn right you will," Skinner ground out, "_where is it?!_"

The sound of someone clearing their throat awkwardly rang out above the spanking, and the three men turned to see Scully with Jack and Claire standing just inside the door. Claire was flushed and she was covering her mouth with one delicate hand, her eyes locked on Krycek's glowing ass.

"Is everything ready?" Scully asked, quirking her mouth and looking around the room in a failed attempt to hide her amusement.

"I don't mind continuing – what about you?" Skinner asked Krycek, whose face was now as red as his ass.

Krycek huffed and wiped his face on the short sleeve of his tee, his long eyelashes sticking together in wet little triangles. "It's in a locker at the train station," he finally told them in a defeated voice, glancing back in abashment at Claire.

Claire had removed her hand from her mouth and had placed it on her stomach, her eyes darting around: glaring at Skinner, glancing hungrily at the well spanked ass, glancing shyly at Krycek with a sympathetic little grin, and then starting the cycle over again. It was clear to everyone that she had a crush on Krycek, and it was also clear that Krycek found it both endearing and embarrassing.

"**You **_**stole**_** something? For **_**real**_**?**" Jack asked in surprised accusation.

Skinner snorted at this and let Krycek go.

Krycek rolled off Skinner's lap onto his feet and rubbed at his bottom for a moment, letting out a deep breath. He then grabbed at his jeans and hopped in place to get the up before regarding Jack with a patient look, "Sometimes I have to."

"But you're a good guy – you said you work with the FBI!" Jack insisted, "But they're mad at you!"

"_You're_ a good guy," Mulder butt in sardonically.

"He is!" Jack challenged him, "He watches out for us!"

Krycek dipped his head in what appeared to be shame, making the situation even more confusing for the three FBI agents.

Claire took this as her cue to step forward. She put her hands on Jack's shoulders and explained, "Alex has helped take care of us since before our Dad was killed. That's…that's why those men were here. They're with the mob, they said that Dad hid money."

"You working with the mob now?" Mulder asked Krycek.

Krycek scrunched up his face, "No!" he snapped at him, as if the idea were the most preposterous thing he could think of. Then he added off-handedly, "I just – they were around, they were good kids." He shrugged, as though the rest should be obvious. Then his face became serious, "We need to get you two out of here." At that, he began rifling through a desk in the far corner, threw a few things on a table and then stiffly went to the closet and took out another duffle bag. He then picked up the phone and made a call, requesting a cab. Both Mulder and Skinner had their hands on their holstered guns the entire time.

Krycek motioned the two kids over, and gave a surprised snort when they both slammed into him, giving him fierce hugs.

"Are you okay?" Claire asked quietly, her face turned a deeper shade of red.

Krycek flinched at the question and blushed deeply as well, then peeked at her from under his brow. "Yea," he grinned, "I have something to show you." He picked up a large envelope that had already been opened and handed it to her.

Claire opened the letter in the envelope and read it silently, looking more confused the further she read.

"You're not giving up on your dreams," he told her.

She looked up at him with startled eyes, and then shook her head in confusion.

He smiled and explained, "I've been working on this," he indicated all the paperwork on the table. "You're going to college."

"This is someone else's letter of acceptance to Harvard," she told him, as though he were confused.

"No, this is _your_ letter from Harvard," he insisted. "And it's in your new name," he showed her a driver's license with her photo and the new name. "You're going to college. It's all been taken care of."

She looked back and forth from him to the letter as tears began streaming down her face. The hand she held the letter in began shaking, and so Krycek took it in his own hand.

"Your life isn't going to be ruined because of your father," he told her. "There's an apartment that will be ready for you. You and Jack will stay together, you won't have to work. Just go to school."

Claire seemed to lose some of the strength in her legs as she began to cry harder, and Krycek had to steady her. She turned into his chest and cried harder as he held her.

During this time, the three agents exchanged glances. It was obvious that they couldn't believe what they were seeing, and they seemed unsure of what to do about it. Finally Mulder chimed in, "How has it all been taken care of? Who do they owe?"

Krycek shook his head as he grinned in annoyance, "They don't owe anyone anything, that's not what this is."

Claire pulled away and wiped her face. "Thank you," she told Krycek shyly, looking at the rest of the documents on the table. "Did you take my essay for Georgetown for this?"

Krycek nodded, a sly expression on his face. "Everything's there," he said, following her line of sight. "Birth certificates, histories for you both – it's solid." He watched her finger through it for a moment, and then he turned to Jack and squatted down so that they were eye to eye.

"It's gonna be hard for your sister," he told the boy. "I want you to go easy on her. Promise? I don't want any bad reports."

Jack smiled, "I promise! But Alex, are you coming too?"

Krycek actually looked sad, "I can't, buddy. But I'll check in on you. You'll both be safe, ok?"

Jack rested his head on Krycek's shoulder, "I don't want to go."

"You'll have your own room," Krycek enticed. "And you'll be in a good school, and there will be video games…"

Jack interrupted, "But I'll miss you."

Krycek stood, picking the boy up, "I'll miss you, too. You'll see me again, ok?"

"Promise?" Jack said hopefully.

Krycek gave a cautionary look to Skinner. Skinner's face was unreadable.

"Promise," Krycek answered anyway. "And you know how to reach me if you need me?"

Jack nodded dutifully. Krycek set him down and ruffled his hair.

By this time, Claire had looked over all the papers and her eyes had settled questioningly on the duffle bag. "What's in here?"

Just then the 'beep beep' of a cabbie horn rang out.

Krycek unzipped the duffle, and inside was nothing but wads of cash. Krycek chuckled at Claire's sharp intake of breath. He pulled out six wads and handed them to her, "This'll keep you going for a few months," he told her, then pulled a few bills out of one of the wads. "Keep these in your pockets; hide the rest in your bag. Never take out large sums where you can be seen. Just have a few smaller bills in your pockets all the time. You'll look poor that way and no one will rob you." He waited while Claire hid the cash in her bag and some bills in her pockets.

When she turned back, he held one hand up in surrender to the three agents and, with the other, pulled a taser out of the duffle and handed it to Claire. "Keep this on you all the time. You'll both be enrolled in self-defense classes again in the next couple of weeks; I'll have you signed up. You'll get information in the mail. I want you taking these classes very seriously, understood?"

Claire and Jack both immediately nodded their heads.

Krycek gave a curt nod, "Good." He turned towards Skinner, "I'm gonna walk them to the cab, make sure they get in safe. I'd like it if we could go alone."

"Fine, but you're not putting on your shoes," Skinner told him tightly. "And you're coming straight back."

Krycek took a deep breath, fear and irritation flashing across his face, but he nodded his agreeance. He then gathered all the paperwork up for both Claire and Jack, handed it to Claire and waited as she organized it all. The three then walked out together just as the cabbie's horn beeped again.

"What the hell is going on?" Mulder asked the moment the footsteps faded away. He looked to Scully first, who simply shrugged, and then to Skinner, who looked to be thinking.

"You know he isn't coming back," Mulder said offhandedly.

"He's coming back," Skinner told him.

"You don't think he's been sleeping with…" Mulder started.

"No," Scully answered. Mulder gave her a doubtful look and she continued, "Claire told me that one of the intruders said she looked like she'd be fun, that Krycek should share, and she said Krycek grimaced and pushed the man out the window by his throat."

Mulder gave a quick tilt of his head in answer to that information.

"She also made it clear that, even though she'd welcome that sort of attention from him, Krycek has been nothing but brotherly and even fatherly with her. She's actually pretty sad about it," Scully said with slight exasperation in her tone. It seemed she didn't know what to make of the situation either.

"What the hell is going on?!" Mulder yelled.

"You're the profiler," Skinner said.

Mulder glared at him, hands on his hips, for a moment and then huffed and looked away. He began walking through the apartment, taking everything in, trying to figure this out.

Scully watched after him, but Skinner kept looking off into the distance as though he were thinking very deeply.

The apartment was sparse, but not as sparse as Mulder had expected. The place was lived in, Krycek had been here awhile. There were no photos, nothing exactly personal in the living room – though the place wasn't sterile, either. The walls that weren't brick were painted white, and there was a bookcase in the living room full of books in English as well as some in Russian. There was a couch, two side chairs, a coffee table and two side tables, but they seemed somewhat dwarfed in the large room. The floors were well polished hardwood, though they still looked to be in bad need of sanding from all the scratches and gouges. The only thing hanging on the wall was a dartboard that had various knives sticking in it. This was a likely a recent skill, as there were more cuts in the wall than in the dartboard. There was a football on one side table with the name 'Jack' written in black ink. There was an attached dining area, but all that was there was a table and chairs with a chandelier that was probably original to the building.

The small kitchen was well stocked, and it was clear that Krycek was more than proficient in the kitchen with all the tools and various ingredients he had. There was no boxed food, except for the multiple boxes of teas and a package of chocolate chip cookies. There wasn't any cereal. It seemed the rat cooked every meal he ate. Mulder pulled a face at this realization. It just didn't compute with what he knew of the man.

The miniscule bathroom was spotless, with all the toiletries organized precisely in near military exactness on a shelf above the sink: Electric razor, floss, toothpaste, toothbrush, nail clippers, hair brush, hair gel, deodorant. The medicine cabinet was empty. The cabinet under the sink contained a first aid kit and toilet paper. There was a pile of books on the tank of the toilet: The Killer Angels [new, Krycek was on page 15], One Hundred Years Of Solitude [heavily worn, obviously read multiple times], Gravity's Rainbow [not as worn, but definitely not new], and The Lathe of Heaven [nearly falling apart]. On the floor lay the clothes and boots that Krycek had taken off before his brief shower, and they looked out of place in the otherwise tidy bathroom.

In the tiny bedroom there were skin magazines and lotion on the night stand, and Mulder grinned as he quickly leafed through one. There was an old wardrobe that contained nothing but jeans, white vneck tees, socks and underwear. There was also a locked drawer, but Mulder could find no key. Across from the bed was a tv and vcr and a box of unlabeled vhs tapes. His eyes were quickly drawn to the bed: the bedding was well taken care of and clean, though the bed was unmade, and Mulder chuckled at the fact that Krycek actually had a comforter. It was a deep grey color with almost a tinge of purple. The most interesting thing, though, was the fact that there were minute scratches in the floor from the legs of the bed. It was as though the bed had been pulled to the side enough times to cut two arching scratches from the legs at the foot of the bed. Just as Mulder was about to crouch down to see what was under the bed, he heard the front door open and went to see what'd happen now that the kids were gone.

Krycek shuffled in, a reluctant look on his face. He closed the door and then leaned back on it, his head down.

"Did you see them off safely?" Skinner asked.

Krycek nodded.

"Come here, boy, I'm not done with you," Skinner growled.

Krycek's eyes went wide.

Before Skinner could reach him, the sounds of tires squealing and multiple car doors slamming rang out.

"Move! Back to the bedroom," Krycek yelled, he ducked Skinner and grabbed the duffle of cash. He pushed Scully along as shouts and the sounds of multiple feet running could be heard from down the hall.

"What's happening," Skinner growled.

"They're back. Brought friends," Krycek answered simply as he grabbed his boots from the bathroom and met the three agents in his bedroom. He hopped into his boots, pulled a handgun from under the mattress, pushed the bed away and opened a door in the floor to the apartment below.

The sounds of running went past Krycek's apartment to where Claire and Jack had lived.

"Go!" Krycek yelled, turning to unlock the drawer in the wardrobe. From the drawer he pulled a smoke grenade.

Mulder stood rooted to his spot, and Skinner had to forcibly push him towards the door in the floor. Mulder pushed back in an ill-tempered way, but a glare from Skinner had him moving.

"Scully!" Mulder yelled, signaling to her to go first.

Krycek pulled the pin in the smoke grenade and tossed it out of the bedroom in a straight shot towards the front door, just as three men burst through, then he fired a couple shots for good measure.

Skinner followed his two agents into the apartment below and looked around. This apartment was completely different from the one above. It was terribly dusty, and there were various weapons, packed duffle bags ready to go, maps pinned on the walls, dried food rations and posters of nude women. Just as Krycek's relationship with the three FBI agents was divided into double agency, his own personal life appeared to be divided into two very different and compartmentalized sections as well. He kept his darker side buried under a depiction of normalcy.

The three agents listened to Krycek fighting the mobsters on the floor above them. Mulder reached out for one of the envelopes, suddenly Krycek was there, slapping it out of his hands. Krycek picked up a detonator and pushed the button, an explosion went off in the next room.

"Let's go," Krycek yelled. He picked up another detonator and pushed them into where the living room would be. Mobsters dropped from the ceiling and they had to duck gunfire as they ran. A large hole was blown in one of the walls and they ran through it to an alley outside, mobsters on their heels. Krycek led them behind a dumpster and pushed the second detonator while the three agents fired at the mobsters. The room with his weapons and jobs exploded in a huge fireball.

Sirens approached. Skinner took out his cuffs and turned towards Krycek, but Krycek was gone.

"Where did he go?" Skinner yelled.

Police and FBI jumped out of their cars, the remaining mobsters dropped their weapons.

Mulder lowered his gun and looked around.

"He's gone," Scully said.

"We needed that disk," Skinner growled. "What the hell just happened?"

"I'll start checking with the taxi companies," Mulder said. "Maybe he's on his way to meet up with the kids."

Scully shook her head, "It's too soon, he knows better. But do it anyway. I'll have a team search the train station for the disk."

"Needle in a haystack - _if_ it's even there," Skinner grumbled. "...do it anyway."

The three agents sighed and shook their heads at the chaos around them. Mulder stepped away to begin making the calls and Scully and Skinner went to help the backup round up the mobsters after they'd squared their story away.

Skinner took a moment here and there to scan the surrounding windows. He wondered if Krycek was watching close by. He also wondered what the hell he had just learned about the younger man. It was all very puzzling.


End file.
